The IG report concluded that the loan guarantee “departed from” department guidelines but didn’t find any criminal violations. A federal grand jury investigated the episode, according to a spokeswoman for the IG, but did not hand up any indictments.

Still, the fiasco generated criticism both inside the tribe, according to the IG’s report, and outside. Said Arvind Ganesan, the director of Human Rights Watch’s Business and Human Rights Division, who researched the deal as part of a broader report on the Lower Brule Sioux: “It’s pretty disturbing that he’s now in charge of a department that’s being sued over a deal that he arranged and that went so badly.“